Record-breaking Day 1c in the Books
The third and final Day 1 flight of the MPC20 Red Dragon Main Event has drawn to a close and now it’s time for the player’s party!
Approximately 100 players bagged up some chips tonight and made their way out of the PokerStars LIVE at the City of Dreams poker room. It looks like Lante Zhang will be the chip leader, but we will have full confirmation of that, along with all end-of-day chip counts, a Day 2 seating draw and a full wrap of the day’s action as soon as possible.
11:25pm: Late Night Lead for Lante
It’s looking likely that Lante Zhang will finish as the chip leader.
Zhang recently sent an opponent home after he held J♣ J♠and called the three bet shove of an opponent who held K♥ 7♣ . The board ran out 5♥ A♥ 9♦ J♥ 10♠, with the jack on the turn sealing the deal.
Following this last-minute hand Zhang had well over 170,000 in chips.
11:20pm: Four More Hands
The tournament clock has been paused and each table is playing four more hands.
Stay tuned for any last-minute action, all the end-of-day chip counts, a Day 2 table draw and all that important stuff.
11:15pm: Wei Zhang Takes His
Wei Zhang was once the chip leader, but it doesn’t look like that is still the case.
Zhang lost a couple of small pots recently before losing quite a few more chips on the turn of a K♠9♦ 8♣ 3♠board. There was already around 20,000 in the pot when we arrived at the table and Zhang had led out for 7,500, with two opponents still to act. One player called, while the other raised it up to 19,000. Zhang thought for a long time here, eventually deciding to let his cards go.
Zhang is now down to just a little over 100,000.
11:05pm: River Saver for Percy
Percy Young recently had two players all in. Young held Q♣ Qâ™ , while the two at-risk held A♦ K♣ and 7♣ 7â™ . Young wasn’t too excited to see a 5♣ 6♣ Kâ™ flop spread on the felt. Nor was she too stoked with the 4♥ the turn.
Though the Q♥ river did make her quite happy!
She’s up to 90,000.
10:50pm: Level 12 Begins, Blinds 1,000/2,000, Ante 300
10:40pm: Jones Continue Momentum
Lacey Jones has had quite a productive last couple of levels, recently adding even more chips to her stack.
This time the hand started with Jones opening the pot to 3,500 from the hijack. The player directly on Jones’ left made the call, along with the player in the big blind. All three players checked the 5♣ J♦ A♦ flop and a 5♦ hit the turn.
This time when the big blind checked, Jones bet 5,500. The player directly on Jones’ left then raised it up to 13,000. The big blind quickly folded and Jones moved all in for around 40,000 total. Jones’ opponent went deep into the tank, eventually folding a 5♥ face up.
10:25pm: Zhang the Chip Leader
A stack of 170,000 looks the largest in the room right now and its owner is Wei Zhang.
Zhang recently took down a very large pot when a he held A♣ 10♥ and put a bad beat on an opponent who held A♦ A♣ . It was all in preflop and the board ran out J♥ 9♥ J♣ 7♦ 8♦ , with Zhang hitting a straight. Ouch!
10:10pm: Level 10 Begins, Blinds 600/1,200
10:00pm: Money, Money, Money
The prize pool has finally been announced!
The 995-player field created a HK$9,651,500 prize pool. The top 117 players will collect at least HK19,100 and the eventual champion takes home HK$2.01 million! Check out the final table payouts below and find a link to the complete payout information.
1st – HK$2,010,000
2nd – HK$1,337,000
3rd – HK$802,000
4th – HK$597,000
5th – HK$430,000
6th – HK$334,000
7th – HK$263,000
8th – HK$191,000
9th – HK$143,000
Click here for full payout information
9:45pm: Lacey Jones Getting Aggressive
The USA’s Lacey Jones currently has a stack well in excess of 50,000 in chips, with some of those courtesy of a recent aggressive play.
The hand started with a limp from early position, at which point the player directly on the opener’s left raised it up to 4,300. Jones called out of the small blind and the rest of the table was out of the way as the dealer rolled out a J♦ K♣ 8♣ flop.
Jones checked here and her opponent led out for 8,500. Back on Jones and it didn’t take her too long to move all in. The player had Jones covered, but decided to let it go.
9:30pm: Break Over, Final Three Levels Begin
The players are back from their break and the final three levels of the night have begun.
Blinds are now 600/1,200 with a 200 ante.
Prize pool coming up soon!
9:20pm: Final Break Time
The players have been sent on their final 10-minute break of the night.
When we return there will be three move levels to go before it’s all over.
9:15pm: Number confirmed
The total number of entrants has been confirmed!
There were 416 players today on Day 1c and that means, just as expected, the total field size was 995. That means a prize pool of well over HK$9 million has been created, but we will have official payouts posted sometime during the last two levels.
9:05pm: Juicy Pot for Li
Sixiao Li, better known as “Juicy”, is up to around 75,000 in chips.
She recently took down a pot which started with her opening to 2,200 preflop. Two players made the call and a Q♦ 6♦ 8♦ flop was spread on the felt. All three players checked and a Q♥ hit the turn. This time Li led for 3,800 and picked up the pot.
Li has just under US$100,000 in tournament results on her resume, with her best score coming when she finished 5th in last year’s APPT Korea Main Event.
8:50pm: Smiley the first over six figures
As far as we can tell there is currently only one player with a stack in excess of six figures. This player’s name is Fang Kai Yang. However, he wants to be known as “smiley”.
We recently watched Smiley take down back-to-back hands. First he claimed a pot when he continuation bet a 9♥ 3â™ 7♦ flop against two opponents. Then he simply opened it up to 2,500 preflop and picked up the blinds and antes. It doesn’t seem too many players at “smiley’s” table want to rumble with the player who has a stack of around 115,000 in chips.
8:40pm: Level 8 Begins, Blinds 500/1,000, Ante 100
8:35pm: Chan folds the Jack
One of the chip leaders, Hao Chan, recently folded a J♦ face up on the river of a 6♥ 5♥ J♥ 2♥ 8♣ board after being faced with a bet of around 5,000. It was Chan against one opponent, with Chan leading for 4,000 on the flop and both players checking the turn. The river saw Chan’s opponent flick out the relatively large bet and that was enough to see Chan fold.
8: 25pm: Chips in the Wrong Direction for Aditya
Aditya Agarwal has spent most of the day on the incline, but recently lost a few chips.
Argarwal was faced with a three-bet all in from a player who held A♣ A♥ . The all in total was around 8,000 and Argawal called it off with his 7♠7♦ .
The board 3♦ 4♠2♦ Q♠10♠board meant that one player had doubled up, while Argarwal took a slight hit. Argawal is still doing fine enough to be chosen as the player at his table to buy up the 25-denomination chips.
8:15pm: Hao Chan looking like the chip leader
Hao Chan looks like he is the chip leader at the moment. He has around 75,000 in chips – more than triple the current average stack. The most recent pot to go Chan’s way saw him involved in a preflop raising war with one opponent. The all-in player held Q♥ Qâ™ , while Chan had A♣ Aâ™ . The board ran out Kâ™ 10♦ 10â™ K♣ 7♥ and Chan scooped up the pot.
8:10pm: Unofficial Number
The total entries are currently being verified by the team here at PokerStars LIVE at the City of Dreams. What we can tell you is that unofficially (which is pretty close to official really) there were 995 entrants. Five off the 1,000 but still a massive result, eclipsing the previous Red Dragon record by 104 players! Prize pool should be announced sometime over the next few levels.
8:00pm: Level 8 Begins, Blinds 400/800 with a 100 ante
7:45pm: Oh no, Yogo is gone
Japan’s Iori Yogo has been eliminated!
Yogo was never able to get anything going today.
His final hand started when he opened it up to 1,300 preflop. The player on his direct left three-bet to 3,600 and the action folded around the table and back to Yogo. He moved all in for around 9,000 and with a call, was at risk holding 8♣ 8♦ against A♦ K♠.
The board ran out K♦ 2♦ 6♥ K♥ 2♣ , with all the kings sealing Yogo’s fate.
7:30pm: Richardson Loses a Bunch
Our Canadian PokerPro qualifier Paul Richardson has recently taken quite a large hit to his stack.
He was up against one opponent when we arrived on the river of a K♣ 6♣ J♠K♦ 5♥ board. There was well over 5,000 already in the pot and Richardson led out for 3,300. It was then raised up to 8,000 and Richardson made the call.
When Richardson’s opponent turned over Kâ™ 5â™ for a full house, Richardson flicked his cards straight into the muck.
7:20pm: Back for Level Seven
The players are back from their break and Level 7 has begun!
Blinds are now 300/600 with a 75 ante.
We have heard whispers that the total field will finish at 995.
Confirmation of that and prize pool will be posted as soon as possible.
7:10pm: Second Break
Approximately 288 players have been sent on their second 10-minute break of the day.
We will have full confirmation on numbers after the break. We are definitely close to 1,000!
7:00pm: Online Guru Doing Great
One of the chip leaders in the room right now is India’s Aditya Agarwal. He has amassed around 50,000 in chips, with the current average below 20,000. Argawal has quite the poker resume, posting a little more than US$300,000 in live tournament results. His live scores however are trumped by his online winnings, which are in excess of US$3 million. He plays under the screen name “Intervention”.
6:50pm: Big Hand for Belyanin
We didn’t see when or how the chips went in, but we do know that Georgy Belyanin’s K♦ 9♦ was too strong for the 10♥ 10♦ of an opponent on a 5♦ 9â™ K♣ K♥ 10♣ board. Belyanin was the all in player and doubled up to around 30,000 in chips, with his full house too strong of the full house of his opponent.
6:40pm: Party Tonight
Players are reminded that the MPC20 Red Dragon player’s party is set to take place tonight! It begins at 10:30pm tonight at the infamous D2 night club. Being that it is the anniversary of this event, we are sure it’s going to be huge. The players who end up surviving Day 1c won’t be out of here until about 11:00pm, but we hear arriving to a party on time is not what cool people do.
6:30pm: Level 6 Begins, Blinds 200/400, Ante 50
6:20pm: Rathi Runs into Kings
Rathi Shashank has plenty of success here at PokerStars LIVE Macau. He even made the final table of this very event last January. Unfortunately Shashank won’t be making another final table here at MPC20.
Shashank’s final hand began with him limping from under the gun. The player directly on Shashank’s left three-bet to 900 and two other players made the call before it was back on Shashank. After just a few moments, Shashank move all in for around 9,000. The player on Shahank’s left then moved all in for 20,000 and the other players folded.
Shashank had ran his 9♣ 9♠into K♣ K♠and the news only got worse when a 5♠10♣ K♥ flop was spread on the felt. The Q♠turn and 2♣ river were inconsequential and just like that Shashank was sent home.
6:10pm: Kan Struggling
Former MPCC champion Raiden Kan is struggling right now. He only has around 6,500 in chips. At this stage of the tournament that’s good for around 20 big blinds.
We recently watched Kan check to a lone opponent checked on a 4♣ 6â™ 3â™ flop. The player bet 800 and Kan check-raised to 1,850. The player then moved all in for around 8,000 in chips, which was more than Kan’s stack. Kan eventually folded.
6:00pm: Oh So Close to Four Figures
APPT President Danny McDonagh has just told the room that the entrants for today have just ticked to 409 players – that means the total field is now 988 players. Us poker bloggers aren’t mathematicians, but that means 12 more players are needed to reach 1,000 entrants. There is still just over an hour to register, so we are a chance to get there!
5:50pm: Level 5 Begins, Blinds 150/300, Ante 25
5:45pm: Yu Loses Some
Winfred Yu couldn’t seem to lose a pot this morning, but that all changed recently when he lost a sizable portion of his chips to an opponent on a 5♣ 8♥ Q♦ J♦ 10â™ board. We arrived at the action on the river, with Yu checking to an opponent who bet 2,500. Yu eventually called and then quickly mucked when the player showed Qâ™ 9â™ .
Despite losing some chips, Yu is still on around 40,000.
5:35pm: PokerPro Freeroll and a Dream
It’s a long way to come from Canada to Macau. Generally there aren’t too many entrants in the PokerStars LIVE Macau tournaments who hail from Canada. In the MPC20 Red Dragon Main Event there is one though and that is thanks to the PokerPro tables.
The PokerPro tables were introduced last year and have proven to be hugely popular. Before we explain how a Canadian managed to make it to Macau because of PokerPro, maybe you should read all about the PokerPro tables by clicking here.
Paul Richardson plays on the PokerPro tables in his home city of Toronoto, Canada where there was recently a promotion which would see one player awarded a package to come play this every event in Macau.
Basically the promotion ran like this: Every day you played on the table, you received one raffle ticket. After the promotion period, ten players were drawn from all the raffle entries and then they played a ten-handed sit and go… On a PokerPro table of course. Richardson was lucky enough to have his raffle drawn and was then able to win the sit and go.
This is Richardson’s first time in Macau and he tells us that so far he has been enjoying it and can’t believe how big it is. He tells us he thinks it’s even larger in scope than Las Vegas. Richardson has already played a few hands at the Macau PokerPro tables, which are of course identical to the ones back home.
“Apart from having to figure how to change the language to English the tables are exactly the same and I love them,” Richardson says. “I prefer them to live tables as you just get more hands per hour, it’s great.”
So if you want to play the PokerPro tables, either get on over to Toronto, Canada, or better yet head down to the PokerStars LIVE at the City of Dreams poker room and sit on a table with Team PokerStars Pros Celina Lin and Raymond Wu. If you get here in the next hour or so you can still buy in to the Red Dragon Main Event!
5:20pm: Over Four Hundred
There has now been over 400 entrants here on Day 1c of the MPC20 Red Dragon Main event. Around 35 of those players have yet to be seated as they wait on the rail as alternates. Some of those players may eventually give up on waiting on a seat and get a refund, but regardless we have clearly got a huge number for today’s action.
Registration is open for another two hours. It’s going to be tough to make 1,000 total players as around 20 more entries are needed to do so, but anything could happen.
5:10pm: Back for Level Four
The players are back from their break and the cards are back in the air.
We are now beginning Level 4, with blinds at 100/200 and a 25 ante.
5:00pm: Break Number One
The players have been sent on their first 10-minute break of the day.
Check back soon for more MPC20 Red Dragon action on this record-breaking single day field.
4:55pm: Winfred Continues to Crush Early
Winfred Yu has continued to win plenty of chips early here on Day 1c of the MPC20 Red Dragon Main Event.
The latest hand that went Yu’s way started with him opening it up to 525. Folded around to the player in the small blind and they would three-bet to 1,200. Without hesitation Yu four-bet to 3,100 and that was enough to take it down.
Yu has already amassed 45,000 and that’s definitely the biggest stack we can spot in the room.
4:40pm: Sleepy Start
An afternoon nap at the poker table can be both a blessing and a curse. On one hand, sleeping between hands can keep a player refreshed and invigorated, on the other hand, you may miss some important action and very well may upset the other players at the table. Either way there is a long way to go before Day 1c is in the record books, so this player best order some caffeine.
4:30pm: Yogo Looking for Some More Macau Flags
Iori Yogo’s impressive Hendon Mob page pretty much exclusively features Australian and USA tournament results. Of the more than 20 results on his resume, only one has been posted here in Macau. He will be looking to change that this weekend. However, Yogo’s day hasn’t started as he would have hoped.
We arrived to find Yogo going up against one opponent on a 7♣ 3♦ 10♥ flop. Yogo was in the small blind position and check-called a bet of 625. On the 6♣ turn, Yogo check-called a bet of 1,375 and a 3♣ completed the board on the river.
This time when Yogo checked, his opponent bet 1,375.Yogo went into the tank, eventually folding and sending the pot to his opponent.
Yogo is down to around 10,000 in chips and it’s still only early days.
4:20pm: Level 3 Begins, Blinds 100/200
4:05pm: Great start for Winfred
It hasn’t taken long for Winfred Yu to eliminate a player.
We aren’t sure when the chips went in or what the eliminated player was holding, but we do know that Yu had 9♣ 9â™ out on the felt and a 4♣ 6♥ J♣ 9♥ 8♦ board was spread on the felt.
Yu is up to around 25,000 in chips.
3:55pm: Largest Single Day Sitting Ever
The entrants for today have just ticked past 391, meaning we have secured the largest single-day sitting in the history of the MPC Red Dragon.
Interestingly, today’s Day 1 field is larger than any of the entire field sizes of the first 11 Red Dragon events.
391 players also means we are well into alternates, with around 40 players having to wait for a seat to free up.
3:50pm: Few More Sit Down
As more players continue to register for the MPC Red Dragon Main event we begin to notice a few more familiar faces. This includes reigning ANZ Player of the Year Iori Yogo, APPT Macau champ Alexander Chieng, Victor Chang, Juicy Li, Rathi Shashank and Hong Kong’s second all-time tournament money earner, Winfred Yu.
3:40pm: Level 2 Begins, Blinds 50/100
3:35pm: Entries Will not Stop
The registration line just keeps on growing! There have been 340 players seated at the tables and there are currently 30 in line. So 370 players today means the total field is up to 949 players!
3:25pm: Sea of New Players
As a poker blogger covering tournaments all over the world, it is not often in a tournament room filled with over 300 players that we don’t recognise a huge amount of faces. But Macau is a little different. It’s such a growing poker market that there are always new players that we have never seen from around China, Hong Kong and Japan making the trek to Macau.
Nonetheless, the few players we do recognise include last year’s January MPC champion Yoshitaka Okawa, 2011 Macau Poker Cup Championship victor Raiden Kan, Indian online poker sensation Aditya “Intervention” Agarwal, Aussie Michael Mariakis and high stakes cash specialist Peter Chan.
3:15pm: Largest Red Dragon Ever!
It’s official! A new record has been set.
We needed 313 entrants today to best the 891-player record and so far 320 players have registered! This means we are up to 900 players. Registration is open until the end of the second break.
3:10pm: Day 1c Plans
Day 1c will run pretty much in the same manner that Day 1a and Day 1b did. There will be 12 40-minute levels, with 10-minute breaks after three levels. The main difference today is that action kicked off at 3:00pm, so players will be out of here by 11:00am as opposed to 4:00am.
The first level is 25/50 and players start with 15,000 in chips.
We have been told the entries are already larger than Day 1b. We will keep you updated.
Now, let’s go see who we recognise in this sea of poker players!
3:05pm: Two-Time Champs Calls for the Cards to Fly
Two-time MPC Red Dragon champions Celina Lin has just welcomed a packed room of players to PokerStars LIVE Macau and has given the call to shuffle up and deal!
Lin also mentioned that she will be now playing some low-limit poker on the PokerPro tables, so anyone who wants to play some poker with the Team PokerStars Pro and queen of the Red Dragon can do so!
2:35pm: Past Champions Honoured with a Red Dragon
There is around 25 minutes until Day 1c of the MPC20 Red Dragon Main Event begins, but there is already plenty of excitement in the room. This isn’t only because a few hundred players are preparing to begin their journey to Red Dragon success, but also because past champions are currently being honoured through a trophy ceremony.
You see, the impressive Red Dragon trophy has only existed since the 12 edition of the MPC and the PokerStars LIVE Macau team wanted to give all the past champions the shiny, giant red trophy. Some of those who received a new trophy include inaugural champion Kenny Leong and Team PokerStars Pros Raymond Wu and Celina Lin.
Most of the players receiving a trophy were already eliminated on Day 1a and Day 1b, so we think it’s pretty impressive that they somehow still managed to win a Red Dragon trophy this week.
Stage Set for Biggest Red Dragon Day
There were 160 players already registered for Day 1c of the MPC20 Red Dragon Main Event 90 minutes before registration. APPT President Danny McDonagh is quite happy with that and with registration open for the first six levels, the stage is set for a massive day. So massive in fact, that there may not be enough tables here in the PokerStars LIVE at the City of Dreams Poker Room.
The record for largest single Day 1 flight here in the Red Dragon Main Event is 394 – a record which was set in last April when the record total field of 891 players was recorded. It’s looking like today’s Day 1c could be even larger than that, so added with the 579 entrants on Day 1a and 1b, we are looking at easily surpassing 900 players and moving toward the elusive 1,000. There are 35 tables here in the room, with play starting 10-handed, so it will likely be locked out and alternates taken.
It’s going to be a jam-packed room and once again you can follow live updates here at the PokerStars Blog. The third and final Day 1 flight kicks off at 3:00pm local time!
